I picked up Mike Reid's Pop Quiz game for £2.50 in a charity shop in Doncaster and decided that I had to have it, nowhere near as risky as the time I bought a Jim'll Fix It badge soap-on-a-rope. We got in in the suitcase too which was good news otherwise nothing would get done in Premier Inn if we left it there for the cleaning staff to play with. Talking of which, after singing the praises of the hotel we returned from the wedding to find that our room had not been cleaned. Mandi reasoned that people don't normally stay in a budget hotel for more than one night and that probably confused the issue. The bed hadn't been made, the bin was full, and the towels were still in the bath where we had left them to be replaced with clean ones. All very 'first world problems' I know but still a bit of a pisser to come back to. The guy on the front desk was full of apologies and brought us some new towels, clean cups, teabags and offered to make the bed but we said we would manage. He probably went away carrying our damp towels thinking us a pair of spoilt arseholes but it isn't like we kicked up a huge fuss, we just pointed out our disappointment.
So today we are back in Nottingham and I noticed the difference straight away. On the tram to the train station on Thursday nobody gave up their seat for an old lady with a walking stick. Mandi pointed it out to me and I rather theatrically replied in a loud voice "WHAAAT? You mean to tell me that you saw an old lady with a stick having to stand because nobody offered her a seat?" and this didn't guilt the chavalry (my word - combining 'chav' and 'cavalry') into getting up, in fact they mocked me for caring, we were already standing by the way. What made things more unbelieveable is that a member of the tram staff was standing watching and he didn't step in either, when we got off at the station I sarcastically thanked him for his help, the ignorant cunt. In contrast when we were at Doncaster station we saw someone who first impressions would go against (cap, tracksuit, arse showing) help a woman up the stairs with a pushchair. This afternoon an old man got on the tram (we're back in Nottingham) pushing a woman in a wheelchair while trying to eat an ice-cream and when it got too much for him he dropped the cone on the tram floor without the merest hint of shame at what an act of twattishness he had just just carried out.
As a city dweller I did find Doncaster to be a bit of a small town type of place but it isn't without its charm. Last night we went to a small pub full of old people and got into a conversation with what appeared to be the cast of Last of the Summer Wine who were a delightful group. There is scope for a visit when The Random Saturday Sessions gets underway as there seems to be a good music scene of sorts, plenty of pubs promoting live music but I can't say what they're promoting - it might just be pub cover bands although as there are a lot of students about (is there a University in Doncaster?) so hopefully there's open mics and stuff.
Something I did enjoy was the breakfasts; aside from the Yorkshire pudding thing I had when I arrived I went out on my own before the wedding to the Minerva Cafe in the market place and had the biggest breakfast on the menu to put me on until the canapes came round and this morning we went to a place I can't remember the name of and had the Olympic breakfast, possibly named as a 2012 cash in and escaped the litigious committee who went around stopping everyone from using it. Although maybe not exactly what a top athlete would start the day with, I noticed a glaring omission that was all my fault for not reading the menu properly. Can you spot the problem?
No bacon! My fault for not looking properly and simply going for the biggest plateful but I just can't understand the reason why you would miss that particular ingredient out.
The Sunday Alternative #56 is available from here.
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September housekeeping
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